Author: Brandon Peoples

The Riley County Health Department will lift most COVID-19 restrictions on businesses, starting Monday, March 1. Riley County Local Health Officer Julie Gibbs has issued Health Order No. 20 which rescinds all parts of Order 19 except for mandatory masks and face coverings to be worn in all public spaces throughout the county. Residents are still strongly encouraged to maintain social distancing and follow health and safety guidelines from the Kansas Department of Health and Environment and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Gibbs says the Emergency Operations Center’s Command Staff created criteria to relax limitations and felt many…

Kansas State University is eyeing a return to in-person learning in the fall. In a letter to the university community Wednesday, K-State President Richard Myers says with decreasing COVID numbers and hospitalizatons locally, coupled with an increased availability of vaccines, the university has a more hopeful future. Myers says if the trends continue, the university will begin a phaseout of the university’s reopening plan by Aug. 1. According to the plan that would mean activities returning to normal, no bans in place, but some restrictions may be imposed on a case-by-case basis. Very large gatherings would also be allowed on…

A popular steakhouse caught fire early Wednesday morning. Junction City firefighters were called out just after 4 a.m. to Munson’s Prime at 426 Goldenbelt, just north of Interstate 70. The building was fully engulfed when firefighters arrived on scene. The building sustained significant damage. Firefighters brought the fire under control just before 7 a.m. No injuries have been reported. A fire official on scene has confirmed the building is a total loss. The cause is undetermined and the State Fire Marshal will investigate.

More than 1,100 calls for service were logged in 2020 by the Pottawatomie County Fire Department. Fire Supervisor Jared Barnes presented numbers at Monday’s Pottawatomie County Commission meeting. He says 42 percent of calls were for EMS response with another 15 percent coming on calls for grass or range fires. Barnes also presented information to the board about a need to eventually remodel or replace the Emmett Fire Station, noting leaks in the building’s roof. “I went in there one day it was raining pretty hard and there was water dripping down into the bay” Barnes stated, “we crawled up…

The City of Manhattan has branded its 8-month strategic planning effort approved last month as “CrossroadsMHK: Shape what matters. Choose our path.” In addition to the name, the city has scheduled the first round of public engagement meetings for the week of March 22 as the city looks to develop a city-wide strategic plan to guide decision making and investment. On a recent edition of In Focus, City Manager Ron Fehr called the development of the plan a vision for the community. “It’s also a community plan and the services that the city provides to its constituents and the taxpayers…

Kansas State University has announced it will allow in-person, hybrid and virtual programs for the summer. This extends to programs for visitors and youth-serving programs. The university is currently in phase 3 of its reopening process, which is the final step before an eventual phaseout of restrictions. Physical distancing remains necessary according to CDC guidelines, mass gatherings are limited to 50 or fewer individuals and face coverings will remain mandatory. The university has established guidance for program directors for managing the COVID-19 virus during planning and hosting summer programs. All academic and non-academic programs held during summer must develop a…

Training noise will remain a constant at Fort Riley, at least into the summer. Army officials have confirmed an uptick in gunnery training will continue as the 1st and 2nd Armored Brigade Combat Teams take to the field to hone live-fire skills. From now through June soldiers will train on weapons systems such as the Abrams tank, Bradley Fighting Vehicle and Paladin self-propelled howitzer. The training is said to be designed to hone the skills of vehicle crews and validate their ability to shoot, move and communicate effectively. Communities surrounding Fort Riley can expect to hear training noise now through…

A Junction City man is hospitalized following a Monday morning crash. The Kansas Highway Patrol says a passenger car driven by 43-year-old Travis Allen was stopped at the stoplight at the intersection of Ash and U.S. 77 facing west. Allen accelerated to make a left turn onto the highway but took it too sharply, causing his vehicle to go into a counterclockwise spin into the northbound lanes of US 77 where it was broadsided by a pickup truck in the passenger side. Allen, who was not wearing a seat belt, was transported to Geary Community Hospital with a suspected minor…

Pottawatomie County health officials continue to get vaccine in the arms of residents. Health Department Director Leslie Campbell informed county commissioners Monday that over 400 vaccines were administered during a clinic last week in Wamego. “We had a lot of good help, the Sheriff’s Department doing the parking, probably half the staff was volunteers and the Wamego Health Center also sent some volunteers,” she said. Supply is dwindling a bit since no shipments came in last week due to weather, but Campbell says they will be getting some help to vaccinate teachers and staff throughout the county. “KDHE and the…

Authorities are searching for a male suspect involved in a car crash Sunday on Interstate 70 in Geary County, that left one woman with a gunshot wound. According to the Geary County Sheriff’s Office, deputies were dispatched around 11:30 a.m. to mile marker 311 on reports of an apparent road rage incident. The injured woman, identified as Tina Borawski was transported to Ascension Via Christi for treatment of non-life threatening injuries. Deputies developed a suspect description of a white male between the ages of 25 and 37, with a possible goatee and shaggy, unkempt, strawberry blonde hair. The suspect was…